Transcontinental Race (London - Istanbul) - #TCRNo4

They were apart for awhile (all had a last seen of the same number of minutes ago) but came back together at Feres. Like @Uber-Hero posted, I guess Min got tired of waiting for them to find espresso

Just checked Google. It is,, indeed 135 km.

I have two new saddles sitting here though so that should help matters...

One for each cheek?

The two Italian guys are very experienced ultra endurance cyclists. They have botyen the TCR twice before at least. One of them has done the LEL.They are young and fit but taking their time over the ride because they appeared to want to take it easy and to them the idea of riding around 100 miles a day for four weeks is relaxing (what happened to lying on a beach?). Both could have been looking at a top 20 or certainly a top 50 finish if they have been bothered.

Min is clearly experienced but not in their league. Her determination, however, is what sets her apart.

They're Adamo variants. Different widths, lengths and padding amounts.

Given that I can race 24hr with little issue on one type and another type with more padding cut me to pieces I'm sure I can find a decent compromise.

Min is likely to get a top 138 finish (possibly 136) which places her particularly well among solo riders. She will be finisher 101 of Solos. She will also be a top 10 solo female finisher. Notably, she will have ridden further than any other rider.

Now very close to ANZAC beach. Looks as if they may have finished for the night. Not far to go tomorrow.

The racer in me is screaming at them for not finishing today.
The rider in me thinks finishing in daytime is the right decision. Good choice!

Crossing the dardanelles strait (return journey) in daytime is a memory I'll have for a long time.

Min is not riding home to Taiwan.

She did that two years ago when she rode from Germany to Taiwan.

They are underway and should reach the ferry within a couple of hours. They will finish within 28 days.

The racer in me is screaming at them for not finishing today.

The rider in me thinks finishing in daytime is the right decision. Good choice!

Transcontinental Race - the clue is in the name!

Come on now. Where's your sense of romance?

8km to go....

I got pretty excited by @Skinny's heroic charge up the field after a major setback, the clinical perfection of Kristoff's approach demands awe and respect, and the more mortal riders giving it their all on their own adventures of a lifetime make great stories of everyday heroism. But I don't see the romance in people booking a month off work to plod across Europe at half the speed they are capable of!

I have no problem if others do, though - the event is big enough to satisfy everyone

They are just arriving at the ferry

The tracking spots make it look as if they raced each other over the last few kilometres, with Min ahead, then Mattia, then Alberto quite far behind. It's probably just uneven tracker updates, though.

That is the difference between the Italian pair and Min. The Italians have done the TCR before twice and decided just to ride in a gentle fashion this year. That is very nice and I am sure there are others riding long distances in a gentle fashion this summer. No big deal.

Min on the other hand has given it her all.

Does tcr fill all available slots, and are some riders unable to get a place on the startsheet?

I can understand if nobody wants to answer this but for those that did it, how much do you think TCR cost will have cost you?

Does tcr fill all available slots, and are some riders unable to get a place on the startsheet?

It was about 2x oversubscribed this year. There was a ballot for places.

Agree, in that I'm impressed by Min's ride, and also very much by Hanneke van der Werf, who had to give up in Trieste a week or so back, having struggled against severe health limitations, but not the Italian guys

I've not added it up but it wasn't an expensive holiday. £200 for the event, two weeks' food, two weeks' accommodation, some of which was free, and quite a lot of beer at the end.
I spent a fair bit on equipment at the outset.
I expect there would be a very big range in what people spent depending on how much they roughed it. A Polish guy on Facebook said his budget was €200.

how much do you think TCR cost

As a future hopeful entrant, I'd be interested to know this too...

Also, they're on the ferry!!!!

Notably, she will have ridden further than any other rider.

Trackleaders "straight line distance" is well short of what I rode. I wonder what distance she's measured on her GPS?

I'm waiting for the credit card statements to roll in. I had lots of leftover forrunz moneyz.

There's a thread about TCR cost on the Facebook group.